The Contributions Of Friendship In Ethics And Aristotle's Ethics

Ishmael Beah is someone who has lived through a lot. As a child, he grew up in Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone. His life was changed when war came into his country. Here, we will be exploring the transition from being an innocent child to becoming a soldier, to being a scarred adult.

Firstly, Aristotle asserts friendships based on the love of virtue is the complete type of friendship, compared to two other types (122, section 6). The two other types of friendships are pleasure, and utility. However, he asserts these types of friendship are not lasting, because they are created for the sake of obtaining a good generated from their peer. Insofar the individuals in the relationship generate pleasure, or provide a service of utility to each other (121 section 2 line 15-17). Problematically, once that pleasure/utility has ceased, the friendship will likely dissolve since the advantageous goods have stopped being provided (122 section 2 line 15-17). He does propose that a friendship based on pleasure resembles the virtuous friendship, because the individuals in these relationships aim to be pleasant to each other (126, section 4). However, a friendship based on the goods an agent has to give is considered a lesser friendship, in comparison to the virtuous friendship. It is because the peer has a qualification that makes them desirable, but there is no mutual desire/awareness to generate goodwill for the

I personally believe that Aristotle covered all aspects of friendship because you have to think hard and deep about what he is trying to get across. He is not trying to tell us we should do this and that for a certain type of bond, but he is telling us what this type of friendship will be like and what we should expect to happen and to at least try and aim for this goal. He is speaking in past tense rather than present because he does not want it to seem as if he is telling us what to do like we have no choice but to follow what he is saying. For example when he says that our highest goal is happiness, I agree with that because what mortal would just

Aristotle states that the “proper function of man consists in an activity of the soul in conformity with a rational principle, or, at least, not without it” (Page 17 1098a ll. 3-5). The proper function of man is needed to understand happiness. In this understanding, Aristotle explains that happiness is the highest good one could wish to achieve through human function. Aristotle states “a happy man lives well and fares well”(Page 19 1098b ll. 20-22). This allows the reader to begin questioning what the necessities are in order for one to fare well. One answer to this question may be in regard to friendship. Aristotle asserts that friendship is the greatest external good. According to Aristotle, it is possible to say that a friendless man is able to fare well because “supremely happy and self-sufficient people do not need friends”(Page 263 1169b ll. 2-3). However, “happiness, as we have said, needs external goods as well.” (Page 21 1099a ll. 32-33) With this being said, it can be determined that a friendless man cannot achieve supreme happiness, because, while he may be self sufficient, he is unable to perform acts of good for friends.

The book ‘Yes Means Yes!’ by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti contains articles written by themselves and articles written by other women about women’s sexual power and rape. Jessica Valenti’s ‘Purely Rape: The Myth of Sexual Purity and How it Reinforces Rape Culture’ and Jaclyn Friedman’s ‘In Defense of Going Wild’ discusses the problematic ideology of society towards sexuality, purity, and rape. Valenti argues that the way media depicts certain women and that chastity pledges supports rape culture; while Friedman argues that the “taboo” of women’s sexuality is what drives the porn business and rape.

Aristotle devotes two of the ten books of The Ethics to discussing friendship and its forms. Happiness, according to Aristotle, is a public affair, so with whom this happiness is shared is of great importance, and the suggestion that true happiness can be found in the life of a loner is absurd.

In the writings of Aristotle, seen in Nicomachean Ethics, it is evident that Aristotle believes that friendship is necessary for a virtuous and therefore happy life. I believe that this is accurate due to the similar conditions necessary for a complete friendship and a happy life. It is also evident that friendship is useful in achieving a happy life because friendship can make performing virtuous actions easier. His interpretation can be misunderstood and mistakes in practice can be made, so we will need to discuss these follies as well, in order to understand all the effects of friendship on achieving a happy life.

In The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle claims that there are three types of friendships. The three friendships being that of utility, pleasure, and virtue. First, in Sections 1-3, I will explain Aristotle’s claims of the three types of friendship. After that, in Section 4, I will examine Aristotle’s argument that there are two friendships that are not as lasting as the other friendship. Then, in Section 5, I will analyze whether or not the friendship of virtue can occur between only virtuous people. Next, in Section 6, I will evaluate whether or not true friendship is the friendship of virtue like Aristotle claims. Lastly, in Section 7, I will object to Aristotle’s claims.

We are social creatures. We surround ourselves with other human beings, our friends. It is in our nature. We are constantly trying to broaden the circumference of our circle of friends. Aristotle understood the importance of friendship, books VIII and IX of the Nicomachean Ethics deal solely with this topic. A modern day definition of a friend can be defined as “one joined to another in intimacy and mutual benevolence independently of sexual or family love”. (Oxford English Dictionary). Aristotle’s view on friendship is much broader than this. His arguments are certainly not flawless. In this essay I will outline what Aristotle said about friendship in the Nichomachaen Ethics and highlight possible

In the book Aristotle and the Philosophy of Friendship, (based off the Nicomachean Ethics) the author, Pangle, informed the audience that Aristotle believe in three different types of friendships based off three different types of motives: Friendships of Utility, Friendships of Pleasure, and Perfect Friendship. He identifies these types of friendships as different types of sources of affection that are lovable as the good, the pleasant, and the useful. Before analyzing Aristotle three types of friendships we must first understand what he meant by friendship. During Aristotle’s rein friendship was commonly known as the love one person had for another. Philia, brotherly love, was essential

He said was also important to understand the acts performed towards virtue, because it directly related to the character of the resulting morals. Aristotle felt that fear and pain influenced ethics, as people would avoid that which he/she was scared of and/or that would cause pain. He believe friendships to be vital in order to be a good person, and that it required “reciprocal and explicit goodwill”. Aristotle taught that friendships were uncommon, but could be achieved requiring time to build familiarity and trust. He claimed that this perfect virtue must be achieved and maintained for the lifetime.

Technology is changing the world in a fast pace. This is evident most especially in social networks. Due to the widespread and growing use of these new social media, especially social networking sites such as Facebook, researchers began to study its ethical implications.

The Nazi’s quest to unite Germany under the notion of ‘One People, One Empire’ affected and impacted many social groups in Germany. Women were utilized by the Nazi Party in ensuring the survival and ‘production’ of the future generations of Germany, and maintaining the ideal and traditional version of the Aryan mother and wife. There was also a lot of pressure directed towards artists and writers. Who in the eyes of the Nazi party, were meant to conform to art forms such as neoclassicism and traditional styles as to promote the Aryan ideals and power of Nazi Germany. German youth was also captivated, indoctrinated and utilized by the Nazi Party, in order to fulfil Hitler’s visions of future Germany, with strong Aryan leaders and soldiers.

The proposition is that the virtuous agents are benefitting off each-other, through an egoistic manner. It is evident that the virtuous friendship entails the concepts of egocentrism as Aristotle quotes, “the friend is another himself” (142, 9.4.SS5.30). The ideal Aristotelian friendship is where friends resemble the each other, through similar strains of thinking. Significantly, the concept of egocentrism means if the friends are like us, to disagree with them would be contradicting ourselves. In effect, the friendship based off similarity is enduring, because the agents whom think alike will avoid conflict with each other since they will agree with each other on many grounds. Significantly, the excellent Aristotelian friendship would seem to require that our friends “praise everything to please us and never cross us” (62 section 1). This is further evident when he asserts the friendship of virtue is immune to slander (126, section 7 line 10). The concept of slander can be interpreted as a form of disagreement/quarrel between individuals, and taking insult from this dissimilarity. Problematically, this would leave no room for dispute on differing idea’s, or to further explore different perspectives. Furthermore, the qualification of the virtuous friendship aims to use the similarities of the peer as a moderator, which would benefit the agent in their pursuit towards achieving an intermediate state. The closer the similarities are between individuals, the better they can moderate each other’s actions/intentions. If one of the agents were to act out of line, their friend would respond accordingly and put them back on track. However, presuming the individuals in the relationship are excellent people since they are virtuous, they ought to unconditionally desire to aid their friend, for the good of the friend. Arguably, if the virtues of the friend were to change sporadically or gradually, the right response of the loving agent would be to adjust their behaviour to aid their friend through whatever situation they are undergoing. Significantly, empathy becomes a key requirement for enduring friendships, because it demonstrates we can positively react to our friend’s change (and vice-versa). However, Aristotle uses

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle states that the “proper function of man consists in an activity of the soul in conformity with a rational principle, or, at least, not without it” (Page 17 1098a ll. 3-5). The proper function of man is needed to understand happiness. In this understanding, Aristotle explains that happiness is the highest good, one could wish to achieve through human function. Aristotle states “a happy man lives well and fares well” (Page 19 1098b ll. 20-22). This allows the reader to begin questioning what the necessities are in order for one to fare well. One answer to this question may be in regard to friendship, because, Aristotle asserts that friendship is the greatest external good. According to Aristotle, it is possible to say that a friendless man is able to fare well because “supremely happy and self-sufficient people do not need friends” (Page 263 1169b ll. 2-3). However, “Happiness, as we have said, needs external goods as well.” (Page 21 1099a ll. 32-33) With this being said, it can be determined that a friendless man cannot achieve supreme happiness, because, while he may be self sufficient, he is unable to perform acts of good for friends.